Two Cobourg bike commuters

Everyday Cobourg residents Minnie de Jong and Jim Breckenridge bike to the train station and catch the train to work, come rain or shine. “It is an easy  way to get around,  and it’s fast for shorter distances”, says Minnie.

For Jim, snow is no obstacle. “I have a winter and summer bike. If I wasn’t riding, I would be cross country skiing”, says Jim.

But isn’t it too cold to bike in the winter? “The cold is not an issue, says Minnie, “for me it is the snow.  If there is much snow, I walk. If you dress right, you don’t really feel the cold.”

Minnie and Jim have both been bike commuting in Cobourg for about two years. Both of them work in Toronto and commute by train five days a week. They are part of a growing number of bikers. “I’ve noticed an explosion of bicyclists in Toronto. Even in Cobourg I have seen more”, says Jim.
 
"We really do have to find alternatives to the use of the car, given the impact of the car on the environment – air pollution (smog), paving over farmland, contributing to greenhouse gases”, says Minnie.   “And you also get exercise when biking so it’s a double benefit.”

It only takes Jim about 15 or 20 minutes to bike from home to the train station. “If I didn’t bike, I would not get much exercise. It’s not worth starting up the car. It’s only about 5 kilometres. The car doesn’t even get warmed up”, says Jim.